By Walter F. Roche Jr.
On June 4 of this year surveyors from the Pennsylvania Health Department visited the Geisinger Medical Center to verify that the recent replacement equipment and new services at the facility were in compliance with state requirements.
The visit came one day shy of a year after the state agency instituted a new process for approving hospital requests for replacement equipment and new services.
Due to the new process Geisinger didn't have to wait for the state's sometimes overwhelmed surveying staff to make a site visit before actually putting the replacement equipment or new services in to operation. Recent attestations submitted by Geisinger include speech therapy services and a system to control post partum complications.
Under the new procedure, which went into effect June 5 of last year, the health facility filled out and submitted to the state an attestation certifying that the equipment was properly installed and in compliance with state requirements.
Sixty days after that notification the new services or equipment could go into operation, the department announced in 2020.
"Prior to this a facility would have to wait... and that could take time," Maggi Barton, the agency's deputy press secretary wrote in response to questions.
The goal, she added, was greater efficiency.
The agency said in an announcement of the change, "We recognize that the demand for surveys has outpaced our staffing resources, which, on occasion has left hospitals waiting."
If the health facilities attestations are found wanting when surveyors make a site visit, that could trigger further reviews of other attestations, according to the state policy.
While new services and replacement equipment can come under the speedier process, attestations cannot be used for renovations or new construction.
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